1929 New Braunfels Boutique Hotel and Christine's Floor
240 S Seguin Ave, New Braunfels, TX 78130
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Standard rooms typically $150-300/night. Adjacent Faust Brewing Co. offers dining and tasting separately.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved downtown
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · German Texas Heritage · New Braunfels Founding Family · Hauptstrasse Historic District
The Faust Hotel opened in 1929 at 240 South Seguin Avenue, anchoring the south end of New Braunfels's downtown Hauptstrasse. It was originally named the Travelers Hotel and was built by Walter Faust, a German-Texan businessman whose family had been instrumental in the founding of New Braunfels in the 1840s. Walter moved his family into a top-floor suite and lived in the hotel until his death in 1933. The property took his name shortly after.
The Faust survived the postwar travel decline that closed many small Texas hotels, in part because of its proximity to the Comal River and the German heritage tourism that built downtown New Braunfels into a destination. Texas Highways and the Austin Chronicle have profiled the building's role in the city's commercial history.
The hotel closed for renovation in the early 2020s. It reopened in spring 2026 with 45 rooms (reduced from 64), a new restaurant called Wilhelm & Werner, the Magnolia Patio, and Walter's Bar — the last named for the founder.
Sources
The most-cited account at the Faust comes from a guest who tipped a man in the elevator and asked her companion to pass the gratuity along to the operator. The companion, a hotel employee, told her that the Faust had no elevator operator. The guest described the figure as wearing a top hat and tails and asking what floor she needed. KSAT and Texas Highways have both reported variations of this account, attributing it to Walter Faust.
The second figure is a child the staff identifies as Christine, described in River City Ghosts and Ghost Texas materials as a Faust family ancestor. Her portrait hangs in the third-floor hallway, where housekeeping staff have reported seeing a young girl, around four or five years old, playing. New Braunfels Ghost Tours, run by guide Anita Carrera, includes the Faust on its downtown route, and the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung covered the property in a 2023 feature on local ghost tourism.
Reported phenomena recorded across these sources include furniture scraping at night, appliances activating without input, footsteps and whispered voices in dark corridors, and the empty elevator opening on the upper floors after hours.
Notable Entities
Book a night in the boutique hotel's recently renovated rooms. Housekeeping has reported sightings of a young girl in the third-floor hallway and night clerks have described an empty elevator opening and closing on its own — Christine's portrait still hangs in the third-floor corridor.
Dine at the hotel's restaurant Wilhelm & Werner or grab a drink at Walter's Bar — named for Walter Faust, who lived in a hotel suite until his 1933 death and is reported to greet riders in the elevator wearing a top hat and tails.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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